We’re excited to see what Darren Cunningham and Jack’s CNC Mill have up their sleeves for the Shreveport Mini Maker Faire! Above you can see a short video of the CNC Mill in action — it is sure to be a hit at this year’s faire. Their project is a CNC mill that is Arduino based using gerber.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

We build computers and hardware. We started about 4 years ago going to the Tyler and Austin, Texas Maker Fairs. It gets us out as most of what we do is online.

Bryce Bretherton will be showing his artwork and comics during the Shreveport Mini Maker Faire. Although he is still in high school, he is so passionate about making and drawing that he already started his own business, Laser Dragon Productions, LLC.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

I am currently a junior at Benton High School in Benton, Louisiana. I started drawing comics at the age of 4. It is my passion and what I want to spend my life doing. I am a member of the Talented Art and Theater Programs for Bossier Parish Schools, YACA (Youth Art Council of America) and the Budding Artist Association within the Bossier Arts Council. I was a featured artist at the Bossier Art Council’s “Through The Prism Show” in March 2015, and my artwork won the award to be featured as the advertisement poster for the show. Also in 2015, I participated and graduated from the Cohab Youth Forge Program for Young Entrepreneurs where I was awarded the Attaway Foundation Grant for commitment, my comic book, and business creations. As a result, Laser Dragon Productions LLC was opened by the end of the year. My aspiration is to one day turn my comic book series Laser Man into an animated television series and to continue to work in the comic book and animation world.

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

Original comic books and general live sketching of ideas. I will have free pictures of my characters Laser Man and his partner Solace available for anyone to color in. I will have crayons at my booth. I plan on posting some of the colored pictures on my business Facebook page.

Why is making important to you?

It is my passion and what I want to make a career out of. I am not complete unless I am creating.

If you had an unlimited budget, what project would you make?

Animated television series and movies with a complete line of memorabilia and a 3D printed 6-foot-tall fully featured Laser Man that could stand in the front of my future office.

Charles Niswonger has an awesome and unique talent — he plays the musical handsaw! He will be performing on our musical stage at the Shreveport Mini Maker Faire. If you ask nicely, he may even let you try a hand at playing his instrument.

Charles Niswonger

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

My father played a handsaw back in the 1930s, and I grew up watching him play the saw at churches in the 1940s up to the year he died, 1985. I inherited his old saw and bow, and decided to learn to play it, to carry on the family tradition. The saw is not an easy instrument to play. I practiced for two months before I could play (poorly) a simple song. Now, I have been playing the saw for 30 years, and have made some improvements in the technique, and I have learned some things from other sawplayers.

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

I will show people how to hold the saw, and how to bend it just right and stroke it with the bow, to get the sound you want. Also I will show several different saws, and explain how they differ. Also, I will show an invention of mine which I made from a ceiling fan motor which vibrates the saw, giving it a better sound. I also have CDs for sale.

Why is making important to you?

I have played the saw in many different places, and many people have never seen someone play music on a saw. Some people, mostly children, would like to try holding the saw, and playing a few sounds on it. I enjoy helping them to try it out.

If you had an unlimited budget, what project would you make?

I would make a video DVD of my favorite songs of different styles of music: Classical, Religious, Country, and Patriotic.

Christina Pinckard is an author, artist, and jewelry maker. She’ll be showing a little of each at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire. Check out her work at www.cnpinckard.net!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

“I am a widowed mother of two boys with autism, which is a full-time job, and I make handcrafted beads and then work them into beautiful pieces of jewelry. I started making jewelry when my husband first got sick with cancer, some years back. I couldn’t work outside of the home and I needed something that could calm and help me refocus my mind. I started making jewelry with just beads, but I learned quickly how to make beads with polymer clay and paper. It was then I learned my real passion.”

“I also write books. I write Young Adult Fantasy. The book is titled Arising from Darkness, and it’s part of a 10-book series. My husband passed a year ago, and I have needed this. More than anything else, the writing helps me have less anxiety.”

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

“I will be making jewelry with a galaxy feel to them. From bracelets, necklaces and earrings, they all will seem out of this world. I will also be bringing my book.”

Why is making important to you?

“It keeps me grounded and level. With two boys with autism and being a single mother, it is important to make these pieces and write to help me refocus and redirect my anxiety.”

If you had an unlimited budget, what project would you make?

“As many necklaces, earrings and bracelets as I could. I would make them with sterling silver, chain, and posts. I would continue to make the paper beads, but I would buy swarovski crystals to make my jewelry sparkle.”

Jodie Ricks of Crochet Me This is ready to teach you how to crochet at the Shreveport Mini Maker Faire! All you’ll have to do is start a conversation. She loves to share what she is working on. She’ll have some information on how you can get started on the basics. Check out her work on her Flickr page.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

“I sew and crochet, but crochet is my passion. Here is a link to my Pinterest that gives some basic info about me and a look at some of projects, including crochet, sewing, and other made items.”

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

“I will be crocheting, showing some crocheted items and showing some very basic, beginner crochet stitches and information. Anyone who crochets or does other fiber art handwork is invited to stop by, bring your work-in-progress and sit a spell with me.

I always have crochet with me. Since I crochet in public all the time and have for many years, I am used to — and encourage! — anyone to stop and talk. I love the stories that people tell me about what they create (be it crochet, knit, quilt or any fiber art).

I always ask ‘who taught you?,’ and it is true: You never forget the person who taught you. People of all ages tell me the sweetest stories about who taught them. Even those who do not create with fiber have a story to share that increases my community.

So many times an older gentleman will stop to tell me that I made him think of his mother, grandmother, or other relative who has been long gone before I was even born. I love to listen, to learn the name of that fiber artist so special that 50 years or more gone, she still is remembered and brings a smile to someone. What a gift!”

Why is making important to you?

“Women have been using their hands to create with fiber for thousands of years. Even where and when women were (or still are not) allowed to learn to read or write,we manage to pass on these handwork skills across the centuries, continents and languages largely intact in their original form. What an amazing ability!”

“My name is Sheila. My event partners are my daughter Tiffany and our friend Wendy. I love making and decorating cakes, cookies, cupcakes, etc. with my cake business. I also make character hoodie towels for infants, children and adults. The characters are also on pillow cases and backpacks. I make keychains, head wraps, etc. We also sell personalized children’s books, CDs, and DVDs. We also can personalize items with vinyl.”

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

“We will be selling character hoodie towels, pillowcases, backpacks, keychains, and head wraps. Children’s personalized books, CDs, DVDs. We will also try to have some cupcakes or cookies to sell. We will have some vinyl ready to sell.”

Why is making important to you?

“We love making things because we love seeing how simple materials can come together to create a masterpiece that people will cherish for years to come.”

If you had an unlimited budget, what project would you make?

“If we had an unlimited budget, I would first buy a larger, faster embroidery machine to create more stuff. And we would make hoodie towels and personalized books for all the babies in the NICU to take home.”

Sometimes it takes an interesting bit of inspiration to make us into a maker. Mark J. Davis had creative inspiration after hurting his leg. He turned his injury into a fun children’s book — Otto the Octopus Goes to the Doctorpus. Find out all about Mark and his projects on his website: http://www.buzzgig.com.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

“The idea for Otto came to me after a sporting accident left me in a cast for twelve weeks with three more months of rehabilitation. Thankful that I only hurt one leg, I wondered what it would be like for an octopus to hurt seven legs. Through a friend of a friend of a friend, I met Will Baten, the perfect illustrator who captured Otto’s underwater world.”

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

During the Faire, Mark will be promoting his new book, Otto the Octopus Goes to the Doctorpus.

Why is making important to you?

“I’m a retired entertainment attorney and expert on copyright and fair use issues. After being an arbitrator for the U.S. Copyright Office, I’ve taught college classes on legal issues in the music industry at Loyola University, New Orleans and have written and edited textbooks on the topic. As a change of pace from my technical writing, I’m working with an illustrator on children’s fiction.”

If you had an unlimited budget, what project would you make?

“I have a vision for a series of children’s books. It would require the full-time efforts of a dozen researchers, writers, artists and graphic designers.”

Another maker headed to our Faire is the team of Will & Katie Baten of Lunisolar Creative Productions, a local company specializing in custom images, photography, and graphic design. During the event, they’ll be promoting a new project of theirs called Beararms McKenzie and the Story.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

Will and Katie live in Shreveport with their son Emery and their little French bulldog Norm. Will is a traditional as well as graphic artist, photographer, and musician. Katie has been writing since the age of 5. She is currently working on several different literary projects and looks forward to expanding the Beararms universe.

Will and Katie started Lunisolar Creative Productions LLC in the spring of 2016 and are excited to see what the future holds for them.

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

We will have volume one in the Beararms McKenzie series: Beararms McKenzie and the Story.

Why is making important to you?

For us it’s in our DNA, we love to create! It’s one of our goals to inspire children and grown-ups alike to be inspired and to get out there and be creative! We believe that our own success is not defined by only selling a ton of our product but by having what we made have a positive influence on people and inspire others to make as well. Our hope is that this starts within our community and then continues to spread outward into many other business markets.

One local maker, Mary Ellen Hoffman, will be presenting her creations called “Muddy’s Stuff” at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire. Given that people call her “Muddy,” she figured that was a good name for her unique and colorful sewing projects she creates from recycled T-shirts. Why does she use this medium? “Everybody has old T-shirts,” she says.

Hoffman uses her sewing as a creative outlet, and the funds she raises from her projects go toward a local non-profit, A Place That Warms the Heart. By participating in the faire, she hopes to bring attention to the local group, which provides grief support services in a caring and compassionate environment. For more information, you can visit their website at http://www.aplacethatwarmstheheart.com.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in making.

“I am a life-long Louisiana resident and Shreveporter primarily. My interests are in making things out of available items such as T-shirts, and I love people, laughter, and my home.”

What will you be making at this year’s Shreveport Mini Maker Faire?

“I make and sew items out of recycled T-shirts and scrap materials. I’ve made various kinds of bags, shoulder bags and purslets, if you will. I’ve got wine bottle covers, scarves, and coozies or beverage holders to keep your bottle from sweating in your hand.”

Why is making important to you?

“It is really therapeutic for me to sit at my sewing machine and make things. I guess it is the art part of me coming out. It’s important to me to be doing something productive rather than sitting now that I’m retired.”

If you had an unlimited budget, what project would you make?

“I can’t even imagine having an unlimited budget. I’d probably make more quilts. But I can’t even grasp the need to have an unlimited budget in my realm.”